In a fishing rod having a conventional drum reel, the spool should be prevented from rotating before the sinker with a baited hook is cast. Thereafter, the spool should be released at the same time as the sinker is thrown to allow the spool to rotate and to unwind the line. When operated in this manner, the rotational velocity of the spool is relatively greater than that of the unwinding of the line and thereby may cause entanglement and backlash. To prevent this backlash, one's thumb is normally used to control the rotational velocity of the spool.
Thumb control, however, generates friction between the thumb and the spool resulting in thumbache. Therefore, use of the conventional drum reel is accompanied with inconvenience and pain.